OBJECTIVE Cannabinoids are derivates of the marijuana component Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol that exert their effects on mesenchymal cells and immune cells via CB1 and CB2 receptors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of CB1 in systemic sclerosis. METHODS CB1-deficient (CB1(-/-) ) mice and wild-type littermates (CB1(+/+) mice) were injected with bleomycin. CB1 signaling was a...

Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are retrograde neurotransmitters that modulate the function of many types of synapses. The presence of eCBs, their CB1 receptor (CB1R), and metabolizing enzymes at embryonic and early postnatal periods have been linked to developmental processes such as neuronal proliferation, differentiation, and migration, axon guidance, and synaptogenesis. Here, we demonstrate the pre...

Medium-chain-length (mcl) poly(3-hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) are storage polymers that are produced from various substrates and accumulate in Pseudomonas strains belonging to rRNA homology group I. In experiments aimed at increasing PHA production in Pseudomonas strains, we generated an mcl PHA-overproducing mutant of Pseudomonas putida KT2442 by transposon mutagenesis, in which the aceA gene was...

BACKGROUND/AIMS This study was designed to investigate the possibility that the enhanced nociceptive responsiveness associated with canabonoid type 1 receptors (CB1Rs) and identify its role in mediating visceral hypersensitivity induced by chronic restraint stress. METHODS Rats were exposed to daily partial restraint stress or sham partial restraint stress with intraperitoneal injection of th...

Autophagy is a catabolic process involved in homeostatic and regulated cellular protein recycling and degradation via the lysosomal degradation pathway. Emerging data associate impaired autophagy, increased activity in the endocannabinoid system, and upregulation of suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS3) protein expression during intestinal inflammation. We have investigated whether these t...

Studies show that cancer cell invasion or metastasis is the primary cause of death in malignancies including breast cancer. The existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in breast cancer may account for tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis. Recent studies have reported different effects of cannabinoids on cancer cells via CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors. In the present study, the effects...

We have used ion-mobility mass spectrometry to examine the conformations of the protonated complex formed between AcA(7)KA(6)KK and AcEA(7)EA(7), helical alanine-based peptides that incorporate glutamic acid (E) and lysine (K). Designed interactions between the acidic E and basic K residues help to stabilize the complex, which is generated by electrospray and studied in the gas phase. There are...

The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) is a distinctive form of research that is shaped by multidisciplinary contexts and focuses on practice-driven institutional/curricula/classroom inquiries with an explicit transformational agenda. This essay provides critical insight to the importance of communities of SoTL practitioners, diverse investigations and methodological approaches within ...

BACKGROUND Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), a stress inducible hepatokine, is synthesized in the liver and plays important roles in glucose and lipid metabolism. However, the mechanism of hepatic cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor-mediated induction of FGF21 gene expression is largely unknown. RESULTS Activation of the hepatic CB1 receptor by arachidonyl-2'-chloroethylamide (ACEA), a CB1 r...